A shared history of seafaring between Hull and Iceland is being explored in a new exhibition at the city's Maritime Museum.

Running until September 24, A Common Foe reflects on the experiences of fishermen from both Hull and Reykjavik four decades on from the infamous Cod Wars.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is a specially-commissioned 13-minute film telling the story of one Hull trawlerman's journey to Iceland to discover the truth behind a 50-year-old tragedy in which his brother died.

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"There's an Icelandic phrase - Landis Forni Fjandi - which they use to describe the seas. It translates as Ancient Enemy which I think is a perfect description."

Other items on display in the exhibition include the ship's bell from the Odinn, an Icelandic vessel famously rammed by the Arctic Corsair at the height of the last Cod Wars when British trawlers were being blocked from fishing in traditional waters around Iceland.

Former city councillor Pat Ellis has also donated her late husband Rob's kit bag from the days when he was a mate on a Hull trawler.

Pat Ellis next to her husband's kit bag which now features in the Common Foe exhibition (Image: Sergej Komkov)

"The kit bag actually belonged to his father Jack and was passed down when he became a skipper because skippers were given suitcases.

"Jack took Rob to sea when he was just 15 to try to scare him off from fishing. It didn't work because he was at sea for the rest of his working life."

Ron Bateman was one of three retired Hull trawerlmen to visit Iceland earlier this year as part of the project leading up to the exhibition.

Their four-day trip included a tour of the Odinn, now moored in Reykjavik harbour and operating as a visitor attraction just like the Arctic Corsair in Hull.

Mr Bateman said: "I don't care what the experts and the boffins say, there's more fish out there than ever before.

"I think we should start fishing again. It's food fore the nation and creates jobs, not just at sea both all the associated industries that go with it.

"I don't blame the Icelandic fishermen for what happened to Hull's fishing industry.

"From all the people I've spoken, they just did not know the impact it had on Hull when the industry died."